Franklin and Megantic Railway

The Franklin and Megantic Railway (F&M) (original name "Franklin and Megantic Railroad") was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway in northern Maine that branches off from the Sandy River Railroad (SRR) at Strong and served sawmills in Salem township and in the town of Kingfield.

Franklin and Megantic Railway

Overview
Headquarters	Strong
Locale	Maine
Dates of operation	1884–1908
Successor	Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad
Technical
Track gauge	2 ft (610 mm)
Length	14.5 mi (23.3 km)

Map of the Franklin and Megantic Railway circa 1906.

History

The F&M was constructed in 1884 to reach aboriginal spruce forests on the south slope of Mount Abraham.[1] The 1.8-mile (2.9 km) Mount Abram branch was constructed to Soule's sawmill in 1886.[2] In 1894, the F&M formed the 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge Kingfield and Dead River Railroad (K&DR) to extend rails up the Carrabassett River from Kingfield to Carrabassett. At that time, the F&M owned 2 locomotives, 7 box cars, 21 flat cars, 40-foot (12.19 m) combination car #1 built by the Laconia Car Company in 1885, and 20-foot (6.1 m) baggage car #2 (renumbered #4 in 1903) built by the Portland Company in 1887.[3][4]

The company was renamed to "Franklin and Megantic Railway" in 1897 due to financial problems. The owners of the Sandy River Railroad purchased controlling interest in the F&M in 1898.[5] In 1899 the line was extended to a large sawmill in Crockertown (later called Bigelow), as close to the Canadian town of Megantic as it would reach. Twenty new flat cars were purchased from the Portland Company in 1900.[6][7] Four of the new flat cars and one F&M box car were destroyed when the sawmill burned in 1903.[8] F&M received two 40-foot (12.19 m) long passenger cars from American Car and Foundry Company in 1903. Coach #2 and combination #3 were built in a joint order with an identical coach (SR #8) for the Sandy River Railroad.[9]

In 1906 a temporary trestle was constructed over the Carrabassett River to the Hammond Field log yard where timber from the west side of the river was loaded for transport to the Bigelow sawmill.[10] Log trains shuttled back and forth to the sawmill until the trestle washed out in November 1907. Logging service was rough on equipment, and 22 F&M flat cars were scrapped the following year.[11] A crude passenger shelter was constructed adjacent to the main line for woodsmen involved in the logging. Rapid transformation of the landscape during this brief period of activity evoked memories of a local American Civil War veteran who named the shelter Shiloh Number Two.[12]

F&M locomotives were renumbered in 1905 to avoid confusion with Sandy River locomotives frequently working on the F&M.[13] The F&M was merged into the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad (SR&RLRR or SR&RL) in 1908.[14] The Maine Central Railroad took control of the SR&RL in 1911.[15]

Franklin and Megantic Railroad (Main Line)
Technical
Line length	48 km (30 mi)
Track gauge	2 ft (610 mm)
Route map 48,5 Bigelow [16] 47,0 Hinds [17] 40,5 Huston Brook [17] 38.8 Carrabassett [18] 37,3 Spring Farm [18] 34,5 Hammond Field [19] Carrabassett River[20] 30,9 Sanfords [19] 30,1 Reed Brook [21] 28,5 Ledge Brook [21] 25,1 Kingfield Pit [22] 24,4 Huse [22] 23,9 Kingfield, Maine [23] 20,0 Graffams [24] 16,8 Stevens [24] 16,3 Mount Abram Junction [25] 13,7 Salem Pit [25] 12,8 Salem [26] 9,9 Summit [26] 7,7 Hillside [27] 1,6 Starbirds [27] 0,0 Strong, Maine [28]

F&M combination #1 became SR&RL #11[29]

F&M coach #2 became SR&RL #21[29]

F&M combination #3 became SR&RL #14[29]

F&M baggage #4 became SR&RL #6[29] (but was scrapped and replaced by a new baggage-RPO #6 in 1912)[30]

Fifteen of the 28-foot (8.5 m) flat cars built in 1900 were renumbered for SR&RL; but the remaining F&M freight cars were scrapped by 1911[31]

Geography

Milepost 0: Strong - Connection with the Sandy River Railroad.[28]

Milepost 1.0: Starbird's sawmill.[27]

Milepost 6.2: Summit - Passing siding and covered water tank at the high point between Strong and Kingfield.[26]

Milepost 8.0: Salem - Agent's station and sawmill. The original covered station burned in 1899 and was replaced with a new building in 1901.[26][32][33]

Milepost 10.2: Mount Abram Junction - Branch line to Soule's sawmill.[25]

Milepost 14.9: Kingfield - Covered agent's station, 3-stall enginehouse, and hardwood turning mills.[23][33]

Milepost 19.2: Bridge over Carrabassett River. (on K&DR extension)[20]

Milepost 21.5: Hammond Field. One-half mile branch line to a log loading yard. (on K&DR extension)[19]

Milepost 24.1: Carrabassett - Agent's station with stage connections to Stratton and Eustis until railroad extended to Bigelow. (on K&DR extension)[18]

Milepost 30.2: Bigelow - Agent's station and sawmill (on K&DR extension)[16][34]

Locomotives

Number	Name	Builder	Type	Date	Works number	Notes
1[35]	B.V. Meade[35]	Hinkley Locomotive Works[35]	0-4-4 T Forney locomotive[35]	1884[35]	1664[35]	Renumbered #2 in June 1905 and became SR&RL #3 in 1908[35][36]
2[35]	S.W. Sargent[35]	Baldwin Locomotive Works[35]	0-4-4 T Forney locomotive[35]	1886[35]	8304[35]	Renumbered #3 in June 1905 and became SR&RL #4 in 1908[35][37]

Notes

1. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing Company 1976 p.47-50
2. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 p.56
3. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 p.64-65
4. Railroad Commissioners' Report State of Maine 1895 p.78
5. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 p.66
6. Railroad Commissioners' Report State of Maine 1900 p.85
7. Jones (1979), p. 230.
8. Railroad Commissioners' Report State of Maine 1903 p.64
9. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 p.112
10. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 p.116
11. Railroad Commissioners' Report State of Maine 1908 p.135
12. Jones (1979), p. 326.
13. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 pp.114-115
14. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 p.121
15. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 p.142
16. Jones (1979), p. 390.
17. Jones (1979), p. 389.
18. Jones (1979), p. 388.
19. Jones (1979), p. 387.
20. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 p.65
21. Jones (1979), p. 386.
22. Jones, Robert C. Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume 1 - The Early Years) Sundance Books 1979 p.385
23. Jones, Robert C. Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume 1 - The Early Years) Sundance Books 1979 p.384
24. Jones, Robert C. Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume 1 - The Early Years) Sundance Books 1979 p.383
25. Jones, Robert C. Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume 1 - The Early Years) Sundance Books 1979 p.382
26. Jones, Robert C. Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume 1 - The Early Years) Sundance Books 1979 p.381
27. Jones, Robert C. Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume 1 - The Early Years) Sundance Books 1979 p.380
28. Jones, Robert C. Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume 1 - The Early Years) Sundance Books 1979 p.362
29. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 p.136
30. Jones (1990), p. 355. sfnp error: no target: CITEREFJones1990 (help)
31. Railroad Commissioners' Report State of Maine 1911 p.241
32. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 p.98
33. Jones, Robert C. Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume 1 - The Early Years) Sundance Books 1979 p.259
34. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 p.113 & fig.46
35. Jones (1980), p. 350.
36. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 pp.114-115 & fig.39
37. Crittenden, H. Temple The Maine Scenic Route McClain Printing 1976 pp.114-115 & fig.40

References

• MacDonald, Robert L. (2003). Maine Narrow Gauge Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-1179-X.
• Moody, Linwood W. (1959). The Maine Two-footers. Howell-North.
• Crittenden, H. Temple (1976). The Maine Scenic Route. McClain Printing.
• Cornwall, L. Peter; Farrell, Jack W. (1973). Ride the Sandy River. Pacific Fast Mail.
• Jones, Robert C. (1979). Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume 1 - The Early Years). Sundance Books.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Jones, Robert C. (1980). Two Feet Between the Rails (Volume II - The Mature Years). Sundance Books.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Railroad Commissioners' Report. State of Maine. 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, and 1911

External links

• Brian Carter's Train History